The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-05-19
LIFE ON THE RANGE.
An Ex-Cowboy Gives a Little of His Es
perience--On a Round Up.

perience-On Round Up.
"Queer place for a cowboy isn't it?''
grinned rosy faced Washington market
butcher the other day as he sliced off
big hunk of round for scrawny work
ing woman who needed no sign to an
nDunce the fact that she kept a boarding
house, and at the same time tried to
carry on a conversation with reporter.
mo, I'm 10 longer a tenderfoot," he
/ observed, as he gave an extra tough
chicken slap and punch, and evened
off the top of the barrel, ''but I believe
l am as thorough cowboy, l mean in
experience, as any ranchman on the
plains. l followed the trail for 1850
miles through Texas, New Mexico, Colo
RADIO, Wyoming and Montana, and dur
ing that journey learned what it was to
go without kid gloves and porter house
steak, and to lasso and brand the most
obstreperous steer"
by the way, how do you brand cat
tle?" the reporter asked.
! ''Well | think can give you little
something on that said the ex-cowboy
settling himself into an empty crate. Il
was at that twice a year for three years.
1t is the calves that are branded and not
full grown cattle, and for this purpose
there are two round ups" each year, one
in the spring and another in the fall
! ga round up is carried on on some
what of a cooperative plan by the DIFF
ferent cattle companies and each outfit
details number Of men for this work,
and each body Of men is supposed to take
in a section of country at least 100 miles
in extent.
people who imagine that cowboy 5
+ life is a free and easy life are correct as
to its being free, but the easy part I'd
like to see. When a party of fifteen Of
us would start on a round up we took a
wagon to carry our provender, but we
had to camp on the ground in blankets.
Each man had ten horses to care for, as
riding after cattle is the hardest kind of
work on a mustang, and SO there must
be relays.
''Our food consisted of bread, bacon
! and coffee, and the cook called us at in
the morning to eat our breakfast, and
then into the saddle we went for a hard
days work. Sometimes we were in rain
storms for three days at a time with no
shelter, and then the cattle would drift
backward. You can never get a herd of
cattle to make headway against either
rain or wind.
1--WE always started at daybreak on
the trail, and it took half an hour to get
the cattle punched up and in line. The
'punchers' are called pointers flank
and 'drags.' The cattle move ahead, led
by big steer, who seems to take the po-
sition by right of superior size, strength
and length of horns. Ii the herd does
not want water it moves slowly, but if
the cattle are thirsty they move twice as
fast and can smell water at least fourteen
miles away. When in search of water,
herd of $500 cattle will string out at
least four miles.
'When the water is reached, the cat
tie, with peculiar instinct, lay down
for at least half an hour, and then some
of the boys would dine while the others
remained on guard. The cattle, after
drinking, would Craze while, then move
forward until sundOwn, when they were
rounded up in bunch for the night.
cat night the greatest care must be
exercised to keep them from stampeding.
The flight of bird over the herd will
stampede them at night, and if they get
to running then God help horses and
men. The noise of their hoofs flying
over the ground is like thunder. They
run till they mill or get to running in a
circle; then they stop and lay down.
Some of these journeys were simply
frightful. During one round up in June
last, when passing through Rock Creek
pass in Bonita Canyon, our cattle were
nearly lost in snow storm. New
York Star Interview.